Expansible shoe tree



June 14, 1949. H A. SCHOSHUSEN 2,473,176

EXPANSIBLE SHOE TREE Filed April 30, 1946 INVEN TOR.

Patented June 14, 1949 UNITED *S GFF ICE EXPANSIBLE SHOE TREE Arthur Schoshusen, West Somerliiille, Mass. "Application April 30, 1946; Serial'No'. 66,074

3 Claims.

i This invention crelates'to improvements in shoe trees and more particularly to shoe trees-having provision for :sprea'ding' the shoe formlafter its insertion in a shoe thereby to facilitate insertion of the shoe form while it isin acontracted state and Jto enablemthe shoe.fornr bywsubsequent spreading within the sh'oe, to efiectively maintain the shoe .substantiallyinits original shape. The invention provides improvements which simplify thei'construction of such .shoeitrees and which improve theirope-rative effectiveness.

It is among-the objects ofxmy invention to provide a shoe treeihaving a rare-part shoe form which :is laterally resiliently contractible and spreadable andhaving alongitudina'll resiliently contractible and expansible part Jfor engaging within the counter of a shoe with interconnection between the fore-part shoe form :and :thc counter-engaging part whereby, with the forepart shoe for-m held relatively stationary; :as when it is in lateral-l spread condition within a shoe, manual pressure applied tetheeounter=engaging part longitudinallyin direction away "from: the fore-part; causes contraction of the fore-part 'so that it more readily may be withdrawnfrom a shoe.

.Another object is to provide ashoe tree having a fore-part shoe form which is laterallyresil-iently contractible and spread-able and having a part for engaging within the counter port-ion of the shoe and longitudinally resiliently 'contractible and expansible,.with means interconnecting the fore-part shoe form and the counter-engaging portion whereby the fore-part-form may be supported in longitudinally projected position by means of said counter engaging part and said interconnectingmeans.

A further object is to provide a .shoetree-having a fore-part vform and an axially recessed handle for engaging endwise within the counter of a shoe, with a stifiibar connecting the fore-part form and'the handle and supporting the handle ffor resilient yielding thereof toward the fore-part It is, moreover, my purpose and object generally to improve the structure and operation of shoe rees.

Inthe accompanying drawing:

Fig. 1 is a top .plan view of a shoe tree embodying features of my invention;

"Fig. 2"isa cross-sectional view on line Z'2 of Fig. 1;

*Fig; 3 is a cross-sectional view on line 3--3' of Fig; Finis a top planriof the shoe tree'with its fore-part tormHshown-contracted within a shoe whose avamplisshown in-cross-section, the handle end :of :the shoetree'being disengaged-from the rear: part or counter of :theshoe and 'the arrow indicatingthat'withdrawaliorce is applied t-othe handle in :theidire'ction tor the arrow to cause said contraction of theuiore-part "form-within the shoe; and

f Fig.-i5:isa:cross-sectiohal view on-line 5-'5=of Fig.1.

' Referring tmthe: drawing, my improved shoe tree oom-prises a tiere -part :form which consists of two sections I ll; 1| 2-:whioh: have generall parallel confronting surfaces and i which together: provide ageneralcontourifor'substantially filling the interior space within the vamp'o'f ashoe. section -40; iiz 'atthe contronting-suriacesof the sectionsg-iis-providedwitha reCessM; i6 forseating' the oppositeend rportions :ofa coil spring 1-8 which constantlyflbiases the sections apart. The spring "may "bevariously located' along the sections, -bei=ng-.herein shown-somewhat oloser to the rear ends of the sections than to their toe ends, and iaa guide-pin '2D,--conv enient1y in the formof a -headedinail; mayi be driven into the section Ill with a substantial part of the nail; including its head 2 2v, protrudi-ng and-engaging loosely in a recess Min-the section 12. Recess=24 has depth for accommodating theprotruding portion of the nail when the sections 4-0.; IIZE are :closed together againstthe-bias of spring 1 8.

It is-a feature of the invent-ion that a ring 26 of metal or other suitable :materialis driven into the entrance to recess -24 for constituting a guide forthe pin- ZO-as the seotionsmove relatively toward-and vfromr-each other and :fior serving'as a stop for limiting the spreading movement of the sections. lit will. be observedthat the described guiding-iof the sections is' attained i without any hole -or-part extending through outer surfaces of: the sections 4 -12; 1 as. compared with: prior proposals which require a countersunk hole in the exterior'surtace-ofatleast one of the forepart if orim sections. According to the invention, the ringifi may be slipped on the .shank of the nail ,pr-ior to driving the nail into the-section 1'0. J'Afterlthenail has been= driven into section 10 itoenchoriit (relative to section Ill-, the :ring 26, while. encircling 'the nail may; be driven into :the entrance'to-recess 24 :thereby-to anchor :the ring in section ll-2. The'na-il prefer-ably extends relatively loosely -through the ring 26- to avoid 'bin'dingiifi-and when-the sect-ions maylhave unequal spread ioraandmaft.

The rear end of each form section I6, I2 is horizontally slotted as at 28, 36, and the rear confronting portions of the sections are cut away as at 32, 34 for a purpose which later will appear.

According to the invention, the form sections I6, 12 have a toggle connection to one end of a still bar 36 whose other end carries the tubular handle 38 whose outer end is provided with a rounded knob 40 for seating within the counter of the shoe, the handle being resiliently yieldable along bar 36 to facilitate arrangement of knob 40 within the counter after the fore-part form sections have been inserted in the vamp.

The toggle connection to bar 36 comprises a U-shaped member whose arms 42 engage opposite sides of the bar 36 at its inner end, the bridge 44 of the U-element underlying the lower edge of bar 36. The bar is pivotally connected to the arms 42 of the U-member by a pin 46 so that the bar and its handle may be swung on a pivot pin 46 in one direction relative to the U- member to bring the bar and handle over upon the fore-part form sections l0, 12 but is restrained against movement in the opposite direction beyond the plane of the bridge 44 of the U-member. A pivot stud 48 depends from the bridge 44 of the U-member, and a pair of toggle links 56, 52 have their inner ends pivotally connected to stud 48 and have their outer ends extending respectively into the horizontal slots 28 and 30 in the rear ends of the form sections l6, l2, each being pinned within its slot by a pin or nail 54 which preferably will be driven into the under surface of each section l6, [2 to extend through a suitable hole in the inner end of each toggle link 50, 52. One toggle link has a lug 56 thereon for limiting spreading of the links to less than an on-center position as shown in Figs. 1 and 3. This limits the permissible spread of the form sections l6, l2 at their rear portions, and the head of pin 26 engaging ring 26 limits spreading of the sections at their forward portions.

According to the invention, the tubular handle 38 economically may be fashioned by a mere turning of a piece of wood or other suitable material, and be then provided with the axial bore 58 which terminates within the knob 46 of the handle. It is a feature that this economical handle quickly and easily may be mounted resiliently on bar 36 with a spring 68 within bore 58 engaging between handle 38 and bar 36 constantly urging them apart, yet bar 36 may be a low cost bar which is flat from end to end. I utilize a headed bolt whose shank 62 may be without threads and whose head 64 is slotted at 66 for reception of the outer end of bar 36.

In assembling the device, the spring 66 is inserted in the bore followed by the bolt, shank first, so that the shank extends loosely within the coils of the spring with the outer coil engaging the head 64 of the bolt. At this stage, the head 64 of the bolt may project out of the bore so that the end of bar 36 conveniently may be seated loosely in its groove 66. The bar 36 is longitudinally slotted at B8, and the inner end of the handle may have a transverse hole I6 therethrough. Hence, with bar 36 seated in the groove 66 of the bolt, the bar may be pressed into the handle bore, compressing spring 60 therein, until the slot 68 of the bar can be brought opposite the transverse hole 76 after which a pin 12 may be secured in position extending in hole 16 and through slot 66. When pressure is released,

the spring biases the handle 38 and bar 36 relaitvely so that pin 12 normally is maintained at the left hand end of slot 68 as clearly shown in Fig. 2.

When my improved shoe tree is to be inserted in a shoe, the fore-part form sections l6, l2 preferably will be manually squeezed together to facilitate their insertion in the vamp of the shoe. However, after the sections have been fairly well started into the shoe, subsequent inserting force may be applied through handle 38 and bar 36, with the fore-part spring l8 acting to resiliently spread the form sections laterally and with the toggle arms 56, 52 applying a positive spreading force, so that the sections l6, 12 in slipping into the shoe effectively iron out Wrinkles in the shoe upper. After the fore-part sections ill, l2 have been finally positioned in the vamp of the shoe, handle 38, with its spring 66 held compressed, may be lowered to bring its knob 46 within the counter of the shoe, after which the handle may be released to permit its spring 66 to forcibly press knob 40 against the back interior of the counter while exerting also a resilient thrust on the forepart sections which puts the entire shoe under longitudinal tension while the sections H3, H2 apply lateral pressures which put the vamp of the shoe under constant lateral tension so long as the shoe tree remains in the shoe.

A feature of advantage is that the shoe tree may be Withdrawn from a sho without pulling and tugging to get the spread fore-part sections free. According to the invention, the handle 38 and its shoe-engaging knob 46 may be easily lifted out of the counter region or a shoe by merely pressing the handle toward the fore-part to compress its spring enough to free knob 46. The fore-part sections i6, 12 also ma be easily withdrawn by applying a rearward pull on the handle 38 or bar 36 which, through the toggle, moves the sections I6, l2 laterally toward each other so that they readily and easily slide out of the shoe as a further rearward and somewhat upward pull is applied through handle 36.

I claim as my invention:

1. A shoe tree comprising a pair of fore-part form sections constantly biased in direction to spread them laterally apart, a toggle for operating said form sections laterally toward and from each other, said toggle comprising a rigid bar, a pair of toggle links pivotally mounted at one end of the bar and each link pivotally connected to a different one of the form sections, a handle slidably mounted on the other end of said bar and 55 biased in direction away from the toggle end of the bar, means for limiting movement of the handle in both directions on the bar, said toggle being adapted to move the fore-part sections laterally toward each other in response to a null 60 on said handle while the fore-part sections are held against movement in the general direction of the pull.

2. A shoe tree comprising a pair of fore-part form sections constantly biased in direction to 65 spread them laterally apart, each said section having a slot in its rear end generally in a plane parallel with the plane of the under surface of said sections, a rear-part form, a rigid thrust bar connecting the rear-part form with the fore-part 70 form sections, said bar having a toggle connection to the fore-part sections including a pair of toggle links pivoted on said bar with each link extending into and pivotally secured within a different one of said slots.

3. A shoe tree comprising means for fitting within and shaping the vamp of a shoe, a rigid generally fiat bar connected to said means, a handle resiliently mounted on said bar and having a portion for engaging within the counter of a shoe, said handle being formed with a generally cylindrical body having a knob at each end and having an axial cylindrical bore terminating within the outer-most knob, a coil sprin in said bore, a spring engaging member having a shank loosely engaging in end convolutions of said spring and having a head against which the end-most spring convolution engages, said head having a groove therein and the outer end of said generally flat bar being loosely engaged in the groove, said bar having a slotted outer end portion extending within said bore of the handle, and a pin extending transversely of the handle and through the slot in said bar, and said engagement of the end of the generally flat bar in the groove in the head of said spring engaging member maintaining the engaged end of the flat bar against lateral movement in said cylindrical recess of the handle in directions axially of said pin.

ARTHUR SCHOSHUSEN.

REFERENCES CITED The following referenices are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 674,072 Arnold May 14, 1901 1,399,804 Schelter Dec. 13, 1921 1,599,900 Kosters Sept. 14, 1926 1,746,610 Schoshusen Feb. 11, 1930 2,203,792 Loney June 11, 1940 2,255,471 Mutch Sept. 9, 1941 2,371,690 Harrison Mar. 20', 1945 

